Wytham Woods

Description

Perhaps the most intensively studied natural area on Earth (1), Wytham Woods is situated in the heart of the Upper Thames Basin in Oxfordshire, England (2). Wytham Woods, also known as the Woods of Hazel (3), is a beautiful patchwork of deciduous woodland and grassland (4). The woods have been owned by the world-renowned University of Oxford since 1943 (2) and thus its diverse flora and fauna have been the subject of numerous studies (4).

The woods and grassland of Wytham cover two hills and range from altitudes of 60 to...

Wytham Woods fact file

Description

Perhaps the most intensively studied natural area on Earth (1), Wytham Woods is situated in the heart of the Upper Thames Basin in Oxfordshire, England (2). Wytham Woods, also known as the Woods of Hazel (3), is a beautiful patchwork of deciduous woodland and grassland (4). The woods have been owned by the world-renowned University of Oxford since 1943 (2) and thus its diverse flora and fauna have been the subject of numerous studies (4).

The woods and grassland of Wytham cover two hills and range from altitudes of 60 to 164 metres (5). The average monthly temperature at Wytham Woods is between 4 and 17 degrees Celsius, and 31 to 77 millimetres of rain falls each month (6).

The woodland at Wytham can be roughly divided into three areas: ancient, secondary and plantation woodlands (7). Ancient woodland, which is land that has had continuous woodland cover since 1600 (8) covers approximately one-third of Wytham (6). England currently has 350,000 hectares of ancient woodland, covering just 2.6 percent of its land (8), but these woodlands are the UK’s richest sites for wildlife (9).

Secondary woodlands, which cover another third of the site (6), are areas which were once used for pasture or cultivation, but which have since been left to naturally return to woodland (4)(7).

The remaining areas are plantations – some of which have existed since the 19th century, but most are younger than 60 years old – and open grassland (6), which is situated mainly on the top of the hills (3). A variety of small spring-fed streams, ponds and marshy patches add to the rich diversity (3)(4).

Range

Wytham Woods lies five kilometres north-west of the city of Oxford in England. The 415 hectares of woodland and grassland is nestled in a loop of the River Thames (3)(10).

Most of the site is one main block covering 386 hectares, with Bean Wood (18 hectares) attached to the southern edge through an area of scrub. Four smaller detached woods (Stroud Copse, Higgins Copse, Cammoor Copse and Stimpson’s Copse), totalling 12 hectares, lie to the south and west of the main site (10).

It is also home to the tawny owl (Strix aluco) and barn owl (Tyto alba), which feed on the wood mice and bank voles (10)(13). Both of these owls, like many other birds found in Wytham, depend wholly or partly on dead or dying trees within the woodland for their nest sites (13).

The insect fauna of Wytham Woods is extremely diverse (3). This includes over 800 butterfly and moth species, such as the uncommon wood white butterfly (Leptidea sinapis), and around 900 species of beetle, 13 of which are nationally rare (3).

Threats

The greatest threat facing Wytham Woods, and indeed all UK woodland, is rapid climate change, which has the potential to greatly change the UK’s wildlife and habitats (9). An increase in extreme events, such as storms, may be one consequence of climate change. This can affect the old trees of the wood, which may be blown over in such storms (6). Climate change can also result in increased grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), which can seriously damage sycamore trees, and deer, which have a significant effect on the woodland, are favoured by mild winters. Milder winters may also facilitate an increase in various diseases (6).

Disease has greatly impacted Wytham Woods in the past, including the rabbit disease ‘myxomatosis’, which reached Wytham around 1955 and resulted in the extermination of the once common rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)(10). The impact on the woodland was significant: patches of open grassland became overgrown with scrub and the rabbit’s predators, such as foxes, stoats and weasels, were all severely affected. Stoats virtually disappeared from Wytham and the weasel changed its hunting behaviour with some serious outcomes for some nesting birds. Although rabbit numbers have since recovered somewhat, they are still nowhere near as abundant as they were before the disease (10).

The tree diseases ‘Dutch elm’ and ‘knopper gall’ have also impacted the woods. As a result of Dutch elm disease, only little groups of small elms remain today, while knopper gall, which destroys acorns, has spread to Wytham’s oaks (10).

Conservation

Ancient woodland is the UK’s richest site for wildlife and contains more threatened species than any other UK habitat, thus their conservation is of great importance (9). Much of the UK’s ancient woodland has been lost or damaged by agriculture, development or planting of non-native conifers (9), making the preservation of Wytham’s ancient woodland even more vital. Luckily, when Wytham Woods was given to the University of Oxford in 1943, the donor stipulated that every care should be taken to preserve the woods in their present state of natural beauty (3).

Action against climate change is clearly vital (9), while scientific research will help us predict and prepare for future climate change. The sustained, intensive ecological research at Wytham Woods will aid our understanding of how woodlands will respond to climate change and how to maximise the resilience of woodlands to changing weather patterns (2).

Wytham Woods may therefore not only be a place of great beauty and exceptionally rich flora and fauna (4)(10), but may also help secure the future of temperate woodlands around Europe.

Macdonald, D.W. and Newman, C. (2002) Population dynamics of badgers (Meles meles) in Oxfordshire, U.K.: numbers, density and cohort life histories, and a possible role of climate change in population growth. Journal of Zoology, 256: 121-138.

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